After a prolonged winter, the Indian edtech sector seems to be witnessing some signs of a thaw. The sector has received $608.8 million of funding across 68 deals in 2024 so far - 153 per cent more than the $240.9 million across 106 deals during the same period last year - according to data from market intelligence platform Tracxn.
To boost domestic manufacturing under the Make in India initiative and reduce dependency on imports, the government is expected to announce in the Budget an increase in the minimum local content requirement for public procurement, with certain sectors being granted exceptions. Currently, firms producing goods, services, or works with at least 50 per cent local content are classified as Class-I local suppliers and are preferred the most in government procurement.
Recently, the government relaxed foreign direct investment (FDI) norms for the space sector by allowing 100 per cent FDI in manufacture of components, systems or sub-systems for satellites, ground segments, and user segments. It also permitted 74 per cent FDI in satellite manufacturing and operation as well as satellite data products and 49 per cent in development of launch vehicles and spaceports. Following this, stocks of related companies saw an uptick on the bourses.
In the aviation sector, 100 per cent FDI is allowed under automatic route for MRO (maintenance, repair, overhaul), ground handling, and aircraft purchase.
Yahoo has shut down its news websites in India due the new foreign direct investment (FDI) rules that limit foreign ownership of media companies that operate and publish digital content in India.
FinMin had, recently, notified changes in FDI rules that made prior approval of the government mandatory for foreign investments from countries that share a land border with India. Hong Kong was ranked 14th on the list of countries with FDI flows to India, contributing $4.2 billion between April 2000 and December 2019, the data from DPIIT shows. India received FDI worth $2.34 billion from China in the same period.
The main sectors that receive the maximum foreign inflows include services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, construction, automobile, and power.
India has received over USD 20 billion in FDI amid the coronavirus pandemic, Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said on Tuesday, showcasing the country as one of the most attractive destinations for investment globally.
India has emerged as one of the top three choices for investments in the next 2-3 years, with more than two-thirds of respondents in a survey of multinational companies (MNCs) citing the country as their number one choice for future investments. According to the FDI survey released on Tuesday by CII in association with EY, about half of the respondents see India amongst the top three economies or leading manufacturing destinations of the world by 2025.
The approvals would be handled independently by administrative ministries of different sectors.
For insurance intermediaries like brokers, insurance repositories, third-party administrators, etc, 100 per cent FDI may be permitted.
'India-China economic ties are likely to take a hit in the wake of the new situation, but that also provides India with a new opportunity to strengthen its manufacturing base,' points out Dr Rajaram Panda.
The ministry of home affairs has received more than 20 proposals for foreign direct investment (FDI), including from China and Hong Kong, requiring security clearance between April and May. 'We are vetting some of these proposals which have come from various sectors. One of the applications is from a well known start-up,' an official said. 'We await inputs from Research and Analysis Wing, intelligence agencies, external affairs ministry, and embassies.'
The draft favoured up to 49 per cent foreign equity in inventory model in the case of 100 per cent made in India products sold through Indian management-controlled platforms with resident Indian founders/promoters.
Another priority in the first 100 days could be the launch of an e-platform -- Trade Connect -- to help exporters connect with stakeholders of international trade.
There has been a decline in foreign direct inflow from China in the last three years, with FDI coming down to USD 163.77 million in 2019-20, Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Giving details of the total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow from Chinese companies in India, he said, it was USD 350.22 million in 2017-18, while it declined to USD 229 million in the following year.
'I found it unbelievable that L&T said 45,000 jobs were waiting to be filled because of unavailability of suitable skillsets.' 'So, when the Opposition sweepingly says there are no jobs, I'm sorry... I'm not saying it's raining jobs, but there are jobs. The (skill) gap has to be bridged.'
The retail sector seeing a sharp rise in FDI flows is one where the Modi government's policy is not clear and has got a little muddled by its political ideology.
Trade links with Israel have strengthened in the past few years, even as the value of goods exchanged with Iran has diminished. Iran accounted for $3.9 billion worth of India's exports in the four quarters ending December 2019, compared to $3.6 billion to Israel. However, India's exports to Iran dropped to $1.2 billion as of December 2023, on a rolling four-quarter basis, while exports to Israel grew to $6.1 billion in the same period.
The inflows came higher in March than in February of 2019-20 despite the lockdown for a week, reports Indivjal Dhasmana.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asserted that Article 370, which granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir, will not be restored even if Congress stalwart and late PM Indira Gandhi comes down from heaven.
'The belief that FDI will shift from China appears to be a strategy of politicians to keep the media busy, chasing irrelevant news to ward off pressure and questions about the government's plans to deal with COVID,' observes Debashis Basu.
Despite the robust growth in this country, Apple's India share in its overall global sales remained modest -- constituting 1.5 per cent of its overall turnover of $389 billion in FY23.
The decision would help provide ease of doing business and also lead to larger FDI inflows contributing to growth of investment, income and employment.
According to sources, there is a proposal to allow 100 per cent Foreign Direct Investment in single brand retail sector "through automatic route" with certain conditions.
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail on Thursday told the government that complex legal structures have been used by some firms to bypass the country's e-commerce rules which from the very beginning do not allow foreign capital in the inventory-based model. At a meeting called by the commerce ministry on allegations that foreign online retailers created complex structures to bypass foreign investment rules and damage small traders, Amazon urged the government not to issue any clarification until investigations into its business practices had been concluded, sources said. At the meeting, Reliance Retail's representatives said the Indian e-commerce policy does not allow foreign capital in the inventory-based model and foreign investment is allowed only in pure technical infrastructure/ platform that facilitates the meeting of buyer with sellers.
As part of it, the govt may permit 26% FDI in insurance broking through the automatic route.
The Survey is authored by Chief Economic Advisor V Anantha Nageswaran and his team.
India was for the first time the leading country in the world for FDI, overtaking the US.
The dust over the controversy around foreign direct investment (FDI) in the defence sector appears to have settled.
The government on Monday proposed to increase foreign direct investment limit in the insurance sector to 74 per cent, a move aimed at attracting overseas players.
While the UN report said that FDI inflows rose 6 per cent in 2018 to $ 42 billion, the government's own data for the entire FY19 period has shown that inbound equity investments declined for the first time in six years in FY19.
The government would try to minimise layers in FDI ceilings.
The overall FDI policy landscape is changing and can do so faster, says
Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday said foreign investments and innovations are welcome but at the same time, the government is focussed on promoting Indian innovation as well as keen on the country's safety and security. Speaking at the India Mobile Congress 2020, the IT and Telecom Minister said that IT and communications sectors have registered over 7 per cent growth and received one of the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) even during the challenging time of COVID-19.
Sectors which attracted maximum foreign inflows during April-June 2019-20 include services (USD 2.8 billion), computer software and hardware (USD 2.24 billion), telecommunications (USD 4.22 billion), and trading (USD 1.13 billion), the commerce and industry ministry data showed.
Draft Press Notes on FDI regulatory framework fail to address the gap between the domestic and foreign regulatory regimes.
India already allows 100 per cent ownership of greenfield pharma businesses.
Key sectors that received maximum FDI include services, computer software and hardware, telecommunications, trading, chemicals, and automobile.
Amongst the top 10 sectors, telecom received the maximum FDI of $2.47 billion
